A new advertising campaign asks residents of the Australian state of Victoria to consider their stance on adult-use cannabis regulation.
The campaign has been initiated by the Pennington Institute; an independent, not-profit drug policy organisation. It involves people completing a five-question “online quiz” (really a survey) about different aspects of safe cannabis regulation. After completing the quiz, participants will see how their views compare to others (and Pennington’s).
“We are seeking engagement from the community about views on cannabis regulation as we develop a regulatory framework for safe adult-use cannabis access in Victoria,” says the organisation.
The “Regulate it?” campaign will run over three weeks across Melbourne and regional Victoria and involve promotion via high-profile billboards, street poster sites, digital platforms and branded coffee carts.
Previous Penington Institute polls found a 54% of Victorians favoured regulation. 28.5% opposed it, and 17.5% were undecided.
“We’re launching this campaign because we know there is already strong community support for cannabis regulation,” says the Institute’s CEO John Ryan. “We want to encourage people to talk about this issue and to show just how a regulated model can make our communities safer and better protected.”
Quiz results will be shared in January 2025 and Penington Institute’s proposed approach to adult use regulation will be released early next year.
In other recent news from Pennington, last week the organisation released its Cannabis in Australia 2024 report, which reveals the latest trends and insights on both medicinal and recreational use of the plant in Australia. It indicates Australians are expected to have spent more than a billion dollars on medicinal cannabis in 2024, and the number of Australians who have used cannabis recreationally is increasing.
“As it stands the medicinal cannabis industry is thriving – what is crucial is to ensure that it is focused on catering first and foremost for patients, rather than revenue growth,” said Mr. Ryan.
Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Australia since 2016. After a slow start, the market rapidly grew – so much so there have been concerns about the medical route being taken for recreational use; supported by some unscrupulous clinics.
“Regulating access to cannabis for all adults would let people who simply want lawful access to cannabis to do so and enable the medicinal cannabis framework to focus on treating patients,” Mr Ryan stated.
Australia’s illegal cannabis market is estimated to be worth about $5 billion a year, with much of that flowing into the coffers of organised crime networks. An estimated $2.1 billion per year is spent on cannabis law enforcement in Australia.
The Institute believes Australia’s policy approach to cannabis is “well past its expiry date” and a regulated adult-use market would provide a number of opportunities; including offering support, health guidance and advice to consumers.
